Unfair Play on Bill for Fair Pay

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Advisor
National Women’s Law Center

Don’t you hate it when a sound bite completely confuses a critical issue? Yesterday the Boston Globe quoted Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) saying the following on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: “We think that this bill is primarily designed to create a massive amount of new litigation in our country, and I think that is the reason for the resistance to its passage on our side.”

Senator McConnell is just plain wrong. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was not designed to – nor will it – create litigation; it was designed to restore the law to what it was until last May, when the Supreme Court rolled back the long-standing rights of those suffering from pay discrimination. In fact, it is the Ledbetter decision – not the restorative legislation – that increases the likelihood of litigation. Under the Supreme Court’s ruling, people who have even the slightest suspicion that they are subject to pay discrimination will have to rush into the EEOC to avoid forfeiting their claims. They will not be able to take the time to evaluate their claims, negotiate with their employers and look for voluntary solutions to the pay disparity. That’s not a system any employer should welcome. (For more information on the Ledbetter case and bill, click here.) 

Lilly Ledbetter was not looking for a lawsuit. Had she been paid fairly, equal to what the men doing the same work at Goodyear were being paid, we would never have heard of her, and I’m sure that would have been just fine with her. But she wasn’t paid fairly, solely because she was a woman, and her employer successfully hid that fact for much of the time she worked at the plant. In fact, she never would have found out about it had a coworker not left her an anonymous note close to the end of her career. Lilly had a right to try to correct that injustice.

And contrary to Senator McConnell’s denigration of it, litigation is an important means to achieve justice. Of course, litigation against their employers is not something employees walk around looking for, and it can be incredibly expensive, time-consuming, and risky. But litigation can be effective at bringing justice to those who are wronged, and it can send a strong message to employers that they cannot discriminate with impunity. Just think, without litigation, we would still have officially sanctioned racial segregation in public schools, and we would not have seatbelts in every car. And those are just two examples that came to mind quickly. 

It’s too late for Lilly now – she is retired and has to live on a pension that is lower than it should be because she was paid unfairly for years. But Congress has a chance to make sure that it’s not too late for others who are paid less than they should be because of discrimination, whether based on sex, race, age, religion, national origin, or disability. The House of Representatives passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act last July. Unfortunately, last night a determined minority of Republicans blocked the bill from getting to a debate and a vote in the Senate. But the fight isn’t over yet. We are calling on the Senate leadership to continue to bring up the bill until it passes. And we’re calling on Senator McConnell to stop distorting the facts and obstructing the legislative process.